Obituaries

Ronald Nativi

Photo of Ronald Nativi
Ronald Nativi, a longtime resident of Bella Vista, Ark., passed away peacefully at the age of 77 at Circle of Care Hospice in Bentonville on Dec. 30, 2014, and is now with our Lord. Ron was born on Sept. 16, 1937, in Barre, Vt., to Geordano "Joe" and Rosemary Caldwell Nativi. Joe, an Italian stone cutting mason, moved his family to Elberton, Ga., where Ron was raised and spent most of his childhood. Ron was a very active, athletic and popular student of Elberton High. He graduated in 1955, and lettered in football, baseball and basketball. During his senior year in high school, Ron was also voted "Best All Around" as well as being the president of his class. He soon followed his passion for aviation, moved to California, and graduated from Northrop Institute of Technology in 1958, with degrees in aeronautical and petrochemical engineering. Ron soon started a family and moved to Houston, Texas, to begin his 32-year engineering career with TRW, an NASA contractor. His career comprised work on NASA missions Apollo, Skylab and Soyuz as an engineering specialist in flight performance calculations. He spent the final two years of his career in Saudi Arabia engineering the largest desalination plant in the world. In the 70s, Ron's entrepreneurial spirit and technical knowledge led him to start his own business, Ron's Air Conditioning and Heating. As a volunteer for the Clear Lake City Firefighters, he showed his deep commitment and sacrifice for his community, and he still had time to commit to coaching his sons in various sporting activities. Ron finally found the love of his life in Rose Mohon. Their life's journey took them to Illinois, Texas and finally brought them to a wonderful life in Bella Vista, Ark. Along the way, they always made many friends and positively impacted the communities in which they lived. Ron and Rose enjoyed travelling together, golf and gardening as well as being active members of Bella Vista Community Church. They also had a mutual love of animals, and enjoyed the love and companionship of their pets, Oscar, Miss Kitty and Wendy Rose. Ron loved playing bridge, where he earned the title of Master Bridge Player in 2010. But most of all, they loved spending time with each other as well as with family and friends. Ron Nativi is survived by his wife of 30 years, Rose Nativi; his sons, Jeff and Kirk Nativi, who live in the Dallas area, their wives, Beverly and Corrie, and his beloved grandchildren, Joseph, Nicholas and Vincent. Ron is also survived by his sister, Gloria Mauldin and her husband, Jerry, and their children, Chip and Amy Mauldin, of Hartwell, Ga. He is also survived by his stepchildren, Tommy Richards of Versailles, Mo., and Rhonda Newell and husband, Greg, of Hartford, Ill., who visited Rose and Ron frequently and loved him like their own father. A Celebration of Life will be held for Ron Nativi at the Bella Vista Community Church on Jan. 10 at 1 p.m., 75 E. Lancashire Blvd., Bella Vista, AR 72714, to celebrate Ron's love for life, family, friends and community. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made and sent to the American Cancer Society, https://donate.cancer.org/index; or Bella Vista Community Church, www.bvcommunitychurch.org. Online condolences may be made at www.funeralmation.com.

Published January 4, 2015

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